Juan Williams
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-10-26/juan-williams
Juan Williams is a political commentator for Fox News and until last week he was also a news analyst for NPR. He joined NPR in 1999 as the daily host of Talk of The Nation, and in recent years he’s served as an NPR senior national correspondent. His comments on Fox's The O'Reilly Factor last week prompted a seemingly abrupt dismissal from NPR. Juan Williams talks about his career, his roles as news analyst and commentator, and his reaction to the recent controversy over his dismissal from NPR.
Guests
Juan Williams
FOX News political contributor, former NPR news analyst and author of "Enough."
Related Video
Fox News political contributor and former NPR news analyst Juan Williams discusses his feelings about NPP management and the way in which he was fired last week following remarks he made on Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor." Williams described his exchange with NPR senior vice president for news, Ellen Weiss, from whom he received the news of his dismissal: "I asked Ellen Weiss, 'Do you have a conscience?'...she was carrying out orders. This was an execution from her point of view, I guess:"
"I'm a big fan of radio and public radio," Fox News political contributor and former NPR news analyst Juan Williams said in response to Diane's question about whether he meant to attack all of NPR's programming in his recent criticisms of the organization. Williams draws a distinction between local stations' programming decisions and those made at the national level at NPR's headquarters:
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 1
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 2
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 3
Diane's Complete Interview With Juan Williams: Part 4
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WAMU's message monitors operate outside the realm of NPR, so there is no screening/deletion of pro-Juan Williams opinions, so you can lay your conspiracy theory to rest.
Most NPR listeners/supporters seem tired of Mr. Williams antics and never-ending portrayal of himself as a victim and personality greater than the NPR journalism machine, but he is not. NPR is better off without him, and he is easily replaced.
I think this event was orchestrated by O'Reilly and maybe Williams. He said he was an NPR commentator when he was emitting a personal opinion. And the fact that he accepted Fox's offer makes him the more culpable.
He is stirring the cauldron and making his appearance on Fox more and more advertised.
Juan, you're playing victim to your advantage as so many did recently.
What??!!! I've just heard you didn't do anything to be fired? You carried NPR's name on an anti-muslim banner, my friend!
Stay on Fox
How are we to separate Journalism and entertainment? Is that not the core issue? Any one who gets on mic or in front of a camera is broadcast with no regard to this distinction. NPR, like the White House re: Shirley Sherrod, "went off half-cocked." Because neither organization is at present capable of making that distinction.
NPR should keep firing if they are allegedly firing based on the journalistic "ethics and standards". Because Terri Gross, Scott Simon and many others have repeated lies about Iran, the Iranian leader. Many host of NPR report unfairly about the ILLEGAL Israeli settlements.
Juan Williams just said that there is an "orientation" at NPR. Right on. Did you hear Diane Rehm, Neil Conan, Scott Simon, Terry Gross even whisper about the Goldstone Report, about the UN report on the executions on the Mavi Marmara (go read that report about what took place) Did you hear Diane and the rest of NPR host even touch this?
Of course there is an "orientation" at NPR . And these alleged "journalistic standards and ethics" are very very selective. So hypocritical
This a first year I considered giving money to NPR. But what they have done to Mr. Williams and what they heads of NPR said about Mr. Williams is reprehensible.
Now that I know all the heads of NPR are totaly left leaning, I will have to listen to their stories with a large grain of salt.
Mr. Williams was a true moderate and all far left leaning people at NPR did not care for it.
Thanks for letting me post here.
I would like to applaud Diane for having the courage to bring Juan on the air to defend himself before the her questions and those of her listeners, and I would also like to thank Juan for coming on this show. I understand that you both are friends and colleagues, and I do hope your friendship will in fact sustain the stress of what has happened.
Wow -- my sympathy definitely leaned towards Williams before listening to him on the show this morning. Now I'm glad he 's gone. Once you've got your own ideas and opinions out there, you're no longer a journalist. He just has no place at NPR.
Does Mr. Williams have the right to be upset with NPR 'management?'
Don't we all know someone who was fired, downsized or laid-off, especially during the last recession?
How do you (or the person fired) feel about the experience?
What are your (or the person fired) wishes for the corporation or organization?
Of course Mr. Williams has the right to be upset about being terminated by late night telephone call, and has no obligation to reach out or negotiate with NPR.
Thank you
Juan, thanks for your honesty and for standing up for the right to state your opinion in a context in which opinions are appropriate.
I am appalled that Diane Rehm stated (self-righteously, as usual) that she invites left, right, and center views on her show. I generally have stopped listening to her anti-Israel blasts, and all shows about the Israeli/Palestinian question NEVER have a right-wing Israeli or left-wing Palestinian spokesperson. She makes her opinions known covertly and insidiously by the people she agrees with on this. You are open about your opinions, and for that, I deeply appreciate your stance.
Fortunately, this idiot act by NPR came during fund-raising time so that I was able to withhold my usual contribution.
Juan, thanks for your honesty and for standing up for the right to state your opinion in a context in which opinions are appropriate.
I am appalled that Diane Rehm stated (self-righteously, as usual) that she invites left, right, and center views on her show. I generally have stopped listening to her anti-Israel blasts, and all shows about the Israeli/Palestinian question NEVER have a right-wing Israeli or left-wing Palestinian spokesperson. She makes her opinions known covertly and insidiously by the people she agrees with on this. You are open about your opinions, and for that, I deeply appreciate your stance.
Fortunately, this idiot act by NPR came during fund-raising time so that I was able to withhold my usual contribution.
I wish more people were talking about how ridiculous it is to be made "nervous" by people in "Muslim garb." This whole notion is a red herring when thinking about how we fight terrorism.
What does a terrorist look like? How about the Jihad Jane case: white American woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Shoe bomber: U.K. man with white mother and father of Jamaican/African descent. Underwear bomber: young man from sub-Saharan Africa. I'm sure there are several other cases to highlight my point. A terrorist doesn't necessarily go around in traditional dress, with headscarves or looking like a stereotypical "Arab."
Mr. William's comments go beyond stretching the limits of political correctness. His nervous feelings are based on generalizations fueled by fear and ignorance and only serve to perpetuate the growing bigotry towards Muslims in this country. I agree with his firing--I don't think we need journalists that make such ignorant comments on our airwaves.
Darren Royer
Jaun,
Good job this AM in a moderatly hostile question and comment environment. It is always tough to be fired. As much as they may say it is 'only business' its really personal to the one fired! I will continue to listen to you on what ever network chooses to take advantage of your talents.
md
I really like Diane's show, but am so disappointed at her immediate attack and bias of Juan Williams. She should have titled this show, "The Juan Williams Attack". She was not looking for open debate. It seemed as she was really trying to attack him and seemed angry the whole time.
I really like Diane's show, but am so disappointed at her immediate attack and bias of Juan Williams. She should have titled this show, "The Juan Williams Attack". She was not looking for open debate. It seemed as she was really trying to attack him and seemed angry the whole time.
I agree with Juan's honest statement about seeing a Muslim dressed in Arabic garb making him nervous on a plane. What is wrong with that? Why cant we have an honest discussion without throwing arrows? NPR is a national treasure. Thanks to Diane Rehm many of us will contiue to tune in. NPR made a huge mistake by firing Juan Williams. I have listened to him for years and I value his perspective. Juan Williams is a thoughtful honest journalist and he is a human being as well.
Please make amends and hire him back!!!
Something very good could come out of this debacle if Fox uses the brilliant journalism of Juan Williams to replace the ranting of Glenn Beck. I would actually watch Fox for more than 3-5 minutes at a time (that's all I can take without becoming physically ill) if Mr. Williams was given an opportunity to be more than a punching bag for O'Reilly.
Thanks, Diane, for giving Juan this chance to speak: another demonstration of the the truly "fair and balanced" approach that your regular listeners love about your show!
Before the show, I had mixed feelings about the Affair Williams. Having listened carefully to your whole show today, I applaud NPR for its action in firing him. He played the whiny victim, tried to distort or rationalize his many questionable actions and words over the years (NOT just the most recent O'Reilly incident), and revealed his nasty, vindictive attitude toward NPR as a whole. The fact that NPR tried to accommodate his kind of journalism for so long only demonstrates its openness to diverse viewpoints. He will be much happier and a better fit at Fox News, with his big new salary (earned only because of the notoriety he is gaining by bashing NPR).
Diane may have overstated her case in claiming that each and every one of her shows is perfectly balanced. There have been plenty of Friday shows where the conservative commentator was really a moderate or very weak at best. I do think the program makes every effort to achieve balance, and it certainly does invite an interesting array of guest opinions. Why else would we want to listen to this program ? "Liberal bias", to the extent it exists on this program is much more subtle, and mainly consists in the biases of the call-in audience and the kinds of leading questions they tend to ask. Diane herself could work on bearing down with her questions of liberal commentators - quite the way she did with Juan today.
What a delightful interview, Diane Rhem. I find it so poetic how NPR (specifically the national liberal news programs that Juan William derided) has maintained its journalistic integrity and refrained from self defense.
Mr. Williams behavior on your program, in which he rotated from the self laudatory to intense victimization, was obnoxious. Does Mr. Williams not see that his injection of his opinion, especially an offensive one, is in itself a violation journalistic standards. I feel that everyone on NPR is there for a reason, and is qualified. Why did Mr. Williams feel so compelled to constantly list his achievements?
The most telling answer given by Mr. Williams pertained to Ms. Rhem's question concerning threats made towards Vivian Schiller's daughter. Mr. Williams answered by talking about himself, about how he was being victimized and ran through the mud.
I'm sure Mr. Williams will get a pat on the back when returning to the conservative media outlet (whose mission is to muddy the waters of our national discourse with innuendos and misrepresentations). He successfully went on NPR and called it a liberal organization. Well done Mr. Williams
I am a 61 yr old black woman. Widow. mother of three, grandmother of four. I was REALLY prepared to stand up for Juan. I loved his Eyes on the Prize, his books. I always look forward to them on Fox8, Sunday mornings. Yet, I am embarrassed to write, I have never heard this much whining from my children and grandchildren put together. Yes, you are angry but stick you lip back in. Grow up. I don't like what you said either. I, now, understand what you meant. Me, I never get that reaction except when I hear my freedoms, rights, questioned by the right. They have done more to make me wary than any one of Islam. They never did the number of heinous things done by white christians to us. In this climate, I am watching them. Not people in Islamic clothing. I hear their diatribes against the civil rights legislation, 14th ammendment, black president, denigration of his family. I hear them saying we aren't good enough. So, guess who I am leery of and on whom I keep a jaundiced eye? Isn't Islam.
America has become such a "drama" nation. Look at all the comments here. The number surpasses any serious discussion that is presented here on a daily basis, and I really can't believe Ms. Rehm has decided to run a show about it.
I could care less about this whole soap opera taking place. But, I'm constantly amazed at how this country gets so hung about this crap, instead of really important issues.
America is on its way out. As we spiral downward, and other nations surpass us, we'll still be bickering about whatever it is the media has us all whipped up about.
Pathetic...
The much bigger question here is the claims that NPR's "journalistic standards and ethics" were violated by Juan Williams statements. If you follow that logic then why is it that NPR does not apply those same alleged " journalistic ethics and standards" to Fresh Airs host Terri Gross and others when they repeat flat out lies about Iran? I have heard Terri Gross not only allow guest to repeat the inflammatory , dangerous and debunked ( by Prof Juan Cole) claim that the Iranian President said "Iran wants to wipe Israel off the map" I have heard Terri Gross repeat this hogwash many many times. I have heard Terri Gross and other NPR host allow guest to refer to Irans alleged nuclear weapons program as all ready in existence. I have heard Terri Gross refer to Iran as having a nuclear weapons plan herself.
What kind of "ethics and standards" are these? Seems like NPR's alleged journalistic "ethics and standards" are very very selective and biased.
If they are going to stand by this firing of Williams they need to keep it up and fire anyone who lies about Iran, the Israeli Palestinian conflict etc. Keep firing. Will not be many people left at NPR.
Can anyone tell me why not one of these NPR talk show host did any shows on the Goldstone Report or the UN Report about what took place on the Gaza Flotilla and the executions of the activist by Israeli soldiers? Why so silent about these reports.
Juan Williams is right. There is a clear "orientation" at NPR and it is biased
I wonder what Mr. Williams' reaction would be if a white "journalist" had gone on CNN and made the same type of remarks about some african-americans walking down the street?
And to all of you who think NPR is not balanced, I say you aren't listening with your ears wide open. But you all are entitled to your opinions because we live in a free country. Mr Williams' statement, however, did go against the anti-discriminatory laws that all corporations have and therefore it was a firing offense. Perhaps NPR could have handled it better, and perhaps there are others at NPR who are guilty of making these types of discriminatory remarks, but Mr. Williams remarks were on a TV station that tends to promote hatred toward anyone that does not agree with anyone who has a show on that station. NPR does not promote hatred in any manner; they do promote intellectual discussions and welcome opposing ideas.
Sanctimonious: I guess that's what his handlers are advising.
Poor little shuttlecock Juan Williams, batted violently from right to left, between muscular competitors Vivian Schiller and Bill O'Reilly. I was already mad at Schiller and her gang for their right wing habit of vamping corporate and conservative NPR contributors at the expense of good public information and education on NPR News. Now I see the battle for what it is: outlet competition. Is this little tiff is a publicity conspiracy between NPR and Fox to further polarize their audiences; with Williams' payoff being a fat contract? Business as usual then means the citizens' interest is screwed again, because the out come is a timid and conformist NPR News. But who cares if the business model is working, right? I guess money is the only thing, the only measure. Juan Williams does definitely have a misogynist problem (explains defense of Clarence Thomas) repeatedly demonstrated (probably can't tolerate female supervision) and now has expanded it to include people who dress differently than he. A well-seasoned journalist with strong credentials would have overcome his aversion to "Muslim garb" (whatever that may be) long before now. (Terrorists try to blend in, don't they?) His basic statement was an appeal to ignorance and prejudice, and if isn't smart enough to know it, he is incompetent to be either an analyst or commentator of news. (Poor millionaire, having to pretend not to know he appears to be stupid.)
While the way NPR management handled the Juan Williams incident is very unfortunate, and I don't blame him for being mad, he seems to be missing the point. It's not that he violated "liberal" standards (as he just claimed on air), it's that he violated basic journalistic standards. As a regular citizen who relies on good journalists to inform me of what's going on, I cannot trust a journalist who reveals he has a particular bias to report objectively on the topic he has a bias against.
For example, if he said, in his role as a journalist, that when he sees men in pickup trucks as uneducated rednecks, I would never again trust his reporting on people who drive pickups. Or pick any bias and fill in the blank.
I'm an exectutive in financial services, and we never discuss personal biases in a professional setting, because it's just flat-out unprofessional. Journalists are held to even higher standards - standards which Mr. Williams seems to want to lower or ignore. I used to be a fan, but am disappointed with his rationalizations. Maybe later when his anger fades, he will see that what he did was wrong.
I appreciate Ms. Rehm's repeating that she was a longtime friend of Mr.Williams and can understand how difficult this interview would have been for her. I have to say she did an awesome job in allowing Mr. Williams to speak freely and presenting various views.
As a former aspiring journalist this issue has been of great interest to me. As someone who has had no less than 3 other professions with a strict ethics code, I can understand why Mr. Williams was fired, but can see where there would be issue with the manner of the firing. It is unfortunate that the majority of our country has been so clouded by what a true journalist should act like that they cannot see that this is a straight-forward journalism ethics issue and specifically a violation of NPR code. I fault NPR management in allowing this to happen for as long as it has, but then again I do not know everything about this matter.
At this point it appears NPR management has been reaching out to Mr. Williams to explain and perhaps apologize for the manner in which he was fired, such as how it was done in an open memo, but Mr. Williams is not willing to listen. This behavior is very unprofessional. Mr. Williams has a chance to rise above this, to minimize any financial damage to NPR (and PBS) but he has chosen tthe low road. For someone who says they support public radio and continually cites his past actions to illustrate this, his current actions are contradictory.
For years I have wondered how this man could get away with the outrageous and arrogant comments he has made. Nevertheless, I am astounded that he expresses no remorse for the cruel and degrading remarks he made in a public forum about the entire population of one of the world's great religions. It is also astonishing to me that he sees no connection between a man's lascivious attitude toward women and his professional treatment of women. For a justice of the highest court to bring such an attitude to bear upon issues relating to women is a disgrace to the entire system. For a man to report on issues pertinent to omen is preposterous. His behavior today on the radio was proof enough of his attitudes, his bigotry and it vindicates NPR's long overdue action.
Kathleen, you obviously have not listend to the tapes of Iran's president. Sorry, you can comment, but you can't make stuff up.
After listening to the interview with Juan Williams, I am more convinced that the hierarchy at NPR, Schiller, Weiss et al, are promoting misandry.
Look, Mr. Williams choose to be a commentator for Fox "News". Lets not kid ourselves, Fox is most definitely a right wing, conservative talk show that quotes is own "reporters" and calls that "news". When he started showing up on Fox as a commentator, I was really surprised. This immediately put doubt in my mind about his objectivity when it came to reporting for NPR.
What makes NPR truly fair and balanced in its reporting is that its content will at times make both conservatives and liberals cringe. As a fiscal conservative and civil libertarian, I've been uncomfortable listening to various reports on NPR but, at least I feel that NPR is getting to the truth without bias.
Mr. Williams says he's shocked at the firing but, he knows what he has said or written in the past that calls his ability to remain unbiased into question. If he feels that he should be allowed to express his opinion on his own time. Fine. But, he should know that NPR has the option to fire him if his association (w/ Fox "news") would bring into question his journalistic integrity. "If you lie with dogs, you'll get up with fleas...."